Oxy Q1 LatAm Oil Output Up 19% to 75,000b/d

US oil company Occidental (NYSE: OXY) produced a total 75,000b/d of oil in the first quarter of this year from its operations in Argentina and Colombia, up 19% from 1Q06, the company said in a statement.

Specifically, Argentine output reached 33,000b/d, up from 24,000b/d year-on-year, and output in Colombia expanded to 42,000b/d from 39,000b/d.

Former operations at Oxy's block 15 in Ecuador, which had produced roughly 100,000b/d, have been classified as discontinued operations on a retrospective application basis. Ecuador's government cancelled Oxy's contract on block 15.

NATGAS PRODUCTION

Oxy's natural gas production in Argentina and Bolivia was 35Mf3/d (991,089m3) in 1Q07, up 34.6% year-on-year.

Argentine operations contributed 21Mf3/d in the year, up 61.5% compared to 1Q06, while Bolivian output increased 7.7% to 14Mf3/d.